


Jealousy

by courtsofdreamsandstars



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas, MAAS Sarah J. - Works
Genre: F/M, Jealousy, Light Angst, Suggested Smut, ex-lover returns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 05:16:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8131886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/courtsofdreamsandstars/pseuds/courtsofdreamsandstars
Summary: When one of Rhysand's ex-lovers returns, Feyre finally experiences her possessive, jealous side





	

Parties were frequent in Velaris in the decades following the resolution of the war. Its citizens were so grateful that their freedom and way of life hadn’t been ripped away from them by an evil tyrant that there always seemed to be a cause to celebrate. Almost every weekend there was some kind of party, ranging from a small private occasion confined to a few families, to huge court-wide dances, usually held in the courtyard just outside of the High Lord and Lady’s official residence. They were always amazing occasions to attend, no matter the size, the air of relief and jubilation in the city still hadn’t faded 10 years since the final battle against Hybern when the High Lord and Lady of the Night Court, along with hundreds of brave souls from their court managed to defeat the king, Jurian and their armies, restoring peace across all of Prythian.

Tonight was a decade since that final battle, a day that had become a national holiday across Prythian, celebrated nowhere more spectacularly than in the Night Court, the place that felt the effects of the war most fiercely. 10 years since the war marked the biggest celebration yet in the Night Court, the festivities months and months in the planning. The days leading up to the ball were a flurry of activity in Velaris, the streets decorated and adorned with banners of glittering black and silver. As Feyre looked out of the large windows in her room, she thought to herself that Velaris had never looked more beautiful.  _Fitting for a city with the most beautiful High Lady darling_ she heard her mate’s voice purr like silk down the mating bond and she chuckled to herself, able to feel the smirk on Rhys’s face at his smooth compliments even though he was someone else in the house. They both had gotten into the habit of keeping a tiny gap in their mental shields for each other so they could communicate easily and sense each other when they weren’t together. Not one to ever let him get away with flirting remarks so easy she quickly cut back across the bond  _Rhysand I’m the only High Lady… I’d be a little surprised if I wasn’t the most beautiful!_  She heard his chuckle in real life from down the hallway, slowly approaching as he walked up the stairs to their chambers.

She busied herself with sorting through her outfit choices for tonight which were hanging in their walk-in closet she’d had built attached to their bedroom. She heard Rhys open the door and walk inside, his footsteps echoing against the floor before he slipped off his shoes, his steps becoming more muffled as he padded into the closet. He didn’t even greet her aloud, just a stroke of affection down the bond between them before he wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as she reached back to stroke a hand softly down his cheek. “Still deciding which to wear?” He asked, knowing she always puts a lot of thought into her appearance for public events.

Rhys had originally been confused by this, wondering why it didn’t remind her of her time in the Spring Court where her only tasks were to look pretty and plan balls and banquets. She’d chuckled at him when he’d brought it up one night over dinner and explained to him “I only hated that because I was  _made_  to do it, I never had any other options. But now it’s my choice, it’s a welcome distraction from all my court duties… plus I love picking out an outfit to make my Mate squirm with desire for the entirety of any stuffy event we’re forced to attend. It’s my main source of entertainment!”

“I just don’t know which one is the best,” Feyre replied in the closet, leaning back against Rhys’s solid warmth behind her, “I want to look exactly like someone would picture the High Lady of the Night Court.” Rhys chuckled and shook his head, loving how she never seemed to realise just how stunning she looked in absolutely anything. He told her this and he could feel the blush warming her cheeks. “Over a decade together and you still blush whenever I tell you just how incredibly beautiful you are… you never stop surprising me Feyre darling.” She just stood in the comfort of his embrace whilst she carried on surveying her choices when suddenly Rhys reached out and grabbed the hem of one of the dresses. “This one.” He said firmly, sure of his choice. Feyre raised an eyebrow at his decision. He’d picked a floor-length gown that spilled out on the ground around her feet when she wore it, starting a dark black at the bodice and slowly fading to the deep blue of the night sky down the skirt. It had tiny diamonds sewn all over in waves, rippling across the dress so it shimmered like midnight, a low V shaped back left plenty of skin exposed.  
“Good choice my love, I look forward to watching you try to keep your hands off me all night” she winked at him and the heard the clock chiming on the wall of their room and said “Now leave me be, I have to start getting ready and I’ll get nothing done with you standing so close to me.” He chuckled and swept into a low bow before her, smirking at her and purring “milady” before he retreated from the closet.

* * *

The party was in full flow when it was time for the High Lord and Lady to make their entrance. Their inner circle lined the stairway they descended, towards the crowds who erupted into rapturous applause at the sight of their most cherished couple. Feyre was correct; Rhysand was already finding it difficult to keep his hands in an appropriate position on his mate’s back, pressed against the warm bare skin exposed by the dress. But how could he behave when Feyre looked like a piece of starlight cut straight from the night sky, her crown of stars that matched his atop her head catching the glowing light coming from her skin, part of her gift from the high lords that she let show through in situations like this. She was splendid.

After the formal section of the evening was completed, feasting finished, speeches made, all that was left was the dancing. The people of the Night Court truly loved to dance. The courtyard, balconies and streets were all filled with couples, groups and individuals dancing along to the swelling sound of the orchestras playing in sync throughout the city, one song uniting them all. Feyre and her mate danced for hours, not letting each other go once as they moved as one through the crowds of their people, their friends and family. Feyre smiled when she passed Mor and Azriel dancing pressed close together at the edge of the crowd, spotting Nesta and Cassian somewhere in the crowd surrounding the dancers, Cassian leaning down and whispering something in her sister’s ear that made a wicked smile appear on her face. And somewhere across the courtyard, leaping through the crowd like the beautiful free spirit she was, Elain moved around, producing beautiful blossoms that she handed to dancers, tucked into women’s hair and men’s pockets, bringing the whole crowd into bloom.

Eventually they felt someone approach, and turned to see the hulking form of Cassian standing beside them. “Me and Nesta are heading off soon, but I thought I could get in one dance with my High Lady before the night is over, if that’s okay with you of course?” He asked Rhys, more formal than usual but in cases of asking to dance with another male’s mate, it was always best to be polite, even if that male was your brother. Rhys grinned and said “Of course… be gentle!” and both Cassian and Feyre replied “I will be!” at the same time, the three of them all laughing before Rhys slipped off into the crowd. Feyre smiled up at the Illyrian warrior as they started to dance, floating around each other, similar to how they had moved when Cassian had trained Feyre when she was still new to her immortal form. They chatted casually, remarking on the success of the evening, Feyre making knowing, teasing remarks about how he and her sister were leaving so early in the celebrations. It was only when Feyre looked over his shoulder and saw her mate dancing with another female that she stopped dead.

Rhys was dancing, easily and casually, with a stunning high fae female, her glorious blonde hair floating behind her as he spun her around and around. She was taller than Feyre, she noted, had more generous curves too, the perfect image of what any male would dream of as a perfect woman. Seeing her mate close to this female made Feyre’s blood boil, reverting back to that primal, possessive feeling they’d both had at the beginning of their mating. She was glad she had her mental shields up, as she always did at these events, so Rhys couldn’t hear the snarl that erupted inside her mind.

“Who. Is. That.” She asked Cassian who was looking in the same direction as her now.  
“Oh erm… that’s erm. That’s Loreen.”  
“Why does her name sound familiar?” Feyre asked, trying to place where she’d heard of this female before.  
“Oh that’s probably because her and Rhys used to be… involved” Cassian said with all of his usual tact. He regretted telling her as soon as he saw the fire blazing in her eyes. She continued to watch the pair dancing, seeing Loreen lean in close and whisper something in Rhys’s ear. She didn’t need to see any more. She turned away from them and Cassian and fled through the crowds, up the stairs they’d descended earlier, dashing through their house until she reached her and Rhys’s rooms, slamming the door behind her.

Rhysand continued to begrudgingly dance with Loreen until he saw Cassian approaching him, without Feyre, looking pretty sheepish, an odd look on the massive warrior. He hadn’t been able to refuse when she had asked him to dance, despite their history. Her family held a lot of power in Velaris, and keeping in their good books made everyone’s lives easier. When Cassian reached him he saw the worried look on his generals face as he said “Urm Rhys… we have a little situation that might need your attention…” Rhys shot Loreen a look that tried to seem apologetic, but hoped hid the relief he felt at having an excuse to move away from her. 

“What is it Cassian? Where’s Feyre?” he asked as he and his friend moved through the crowds.  
“So here’s the thing… Feyre saw you dancing with Loreen, and I may have just casually mentioned the fact that you and her have history and now… well now she’d gone.” Cassian said, bracing himself for the rage that way bound to come.  
“Gone?” Rhys asked, “Gone where?!” his voice edged with ice but also sounding frantic and terrified as he reached out across that bond for Feyre but found her walls completely up and barred to him. Cassian pointed towards the house and said “She ran back inside, but that’s all I know… This isn’t good Rhys, she looked pissed.” Rhys didn’t listen to any more, he pushed through the crowds and ran up the stairs into the house, not caring that people were looking around confused as to why their High Lord was running somewhere as if his life depended on it.

* * *

“Feyre?!” He called, both aloud and through the bond, banging against the hard walls of her mental shields, pleading for her to let him in. He raced through the house on instinct, going wherever his feet took him and ended up in front of their bedroom door. He listened intently and could hear pacing footsteps inside. He knocked gently and softly called “Feyre? What’s wrong? Please talk to me…”

What he’d expected was for her to ignore him, that he’d have to stand there pleading for hours. What he hadn’t anticipated was for her to throw open the bedroom door, her face looking like the most terrifying thunderstorm. With a deathly calm and said “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?! What’s wrong, you arrogant prick is that I leave you alone for one minute and find you in the arms of another female, your former lover no less, dancing. For everyone to see.  _My_  mate dancing with another female. And you dare to ask me what’s wrong?!” her voice raising to a shout, and before Rhys could react she’d reaching for the closest object, one of her slippers, and thrown it hurling out of the door towards his head. He didn’t attempt to stop it, letting it smack right against his cheek, knowing it would probably leave a bruise from the force of her throw.

“Feyre darling…” He said softly, taking a step towards her so he was stood in the doorway but before he could continue, she’d hurled the second slipper towards him, this one striking his chest and she said “Oh no Rhysand. You don’t get to Feyre Darling me right now.”  
“Feyre do you really think I wanted to dance with her?” He said softly, keeping his voice calm  
“Well that’s certainly what it looked like from where I was standing! Only a decade and you’re already bored, looking elsewhere?” She snapped, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth. Rhys’s face crumpled slightly when she said that, looking as though she’d ripped his heart right out of his chest. “Rhys I… I didn’t mean it like that… I’m sorry”  
“Do you really believe that? That I could ever get bored of you? Of this-“ he said, gesturing between them, “After everything we’ve been through together, to be together… Feyre I had to dance with her, her Father is the only man in the whole of the night court with power even a fraction close to mine. I have to keep them on my side for the sake of my- no, our court.”

Feyre’s posture changed, looking less like a hurricane and more like a woman who had realise she’d been acting rashly. “Oh…” she said softly, looking at her mate and letting down her walls for him. She showed him how it had looked from across the courtyard, how the rage had felt as it boiled inside her, the jealousy and possessiveness she felt. Rhys listened and watched everything she sent to him, seeing things from her perspective. When she was finished Rhys returned the favour, sending back how he’d felt having to dance with Loreen, wishing it was Feyre against him, missing his mate. They stood in silence as they exchanged their feelings, both coming to understand what the other had seen and felt. All it took what Rhys to whisper “Feyre…” aloud and they were rushing to each other, Rhys’s arms wrapping around her waist as she hooked hers around his neck, her face pressed up against his chest, breathing in the scent of him. “I’m sorry Rhys…” she whispered, looking up at him and he shook his head and softly said “shhh darling it’s okay, I’m sorry too. I should’ve thought, should’ve told you. But I promise it’s only you Feyre, you’re all I ever want… You’re my salvation Feyre, don’t ever forget that.”

Feyre didn’t remember when they started kissing, all she knew was that one minute they were talking and the next his lips were on hers, firm and insistent, his hands pressing against her back, his touch like fire against her skin. She kissed him back deeply, a hand sliding up into his hair as she tugged slightly, wanting him closer even though he was already pressed flush against her. The kiss was hurried, all tongues and teeth and pure, distilled desire.  _So this is what happens when Feyre darling gets jealous_  he purred down the bond and Feyre snarled low in her throat as she dragged her teeth across his bottom lip. His chuckle turned to a groan that sent a white hot flame of wanting straight to her core and she pulled away from his lips and smirked at him. His eyes were alight with desire and love as he said darkly “What’s going on in that wicked mind of yours?” his hand stroking up and down her side. “I’m thinking about how I want to erase every memory of her from your mind” she said, her hands already stroking across the band of tanned skin that was peeking out from under his shirt. Rhys’s smirk grew even wider as his hand grabbed onto her hip firmly as he said “They’re already gone darling.”

The crowd had been murmuring about the disappearance of their High Lord and Lady since Rhys had raced up the stairs away from the crowds. It was only their inner circle that cast each other knowing looks from across the courtyard as a light as blinding as the sun poured out from behind the curtains of the High Lord and Lady’s bed chamber.


End file.
